Week 3
Week 3 Concepts:
Let's look at composition.
Exercises:
Small collage on mat board to experiment with compostion
Grid to practice composition.
Flow. Focus.
Unity (but also) Variety OR Variety (but also) Unity
Week 2
Some people you 'know' talking about abstract art.
Week 2 Key Concepts:
Colour Shapes
Put colour shapes (or lines or patterns) inside other shapes, alongside other shapes and overlapping several other shapes.
Play with different HUES.
Play with COOLER and WARMER colours.
More INTENSE and more NEUTRAL colours.
Your decisions can be either intuitive or intentional, but you're invited to apply the language to the result afterward to help you analyze what you are doing and understand further decisions.
Week 1
Look at what you've accomplished already! These are YOUR beautiful abstracts in the gallery!
Key Concepts:
Abstract art is as individual as you are, like your voice and your handwriting.
Abstract art is non=objective; so its only reference is itself. You can't 'check' it with objects.
Paint what you feel like. Feel free to paint over things. Look for a developing direction or focus is you like.
IMPACT is what you see from far away. INTEREST is what you see from close up.
IMPACT gives someone a reason to notice. INTEREST is an invitation; it interests someone to step up and take a closer look. You can create interest with paint, mark making tools, collage etc.
COLOUR THEORY is a 'nice to know'. It's not essential to know colour theory. Choose a colour you like and start 'flavouring' it on your palette. If you don't like it on your painting you can adjust and paint over it.
Talking About Material:
Artist’s Quality Acrylic Paint or water-soluble oils over 100 ml (not the little sample box tubes) If you’re buying:
• Red
• Blue
• Yellow
• Burnt umber • White
Any and all additional paint is welcome.
A sketchbook or art journal at least 8” x 10” (doesn’t have to be new). Please bring it the first night.
Abstract art lends itself well to a visual art journal practice. It's fun and a great exercise to pull out your visual journal and play with colours, textures, mark making and composition. You can do the whole course in an art journal if you like. It's a good idea to keep on by you - but its entirely optional.
Brushes of various sizes (at least one house painting brush size - dollar store OK).
A paint pen - black is good but so are gold, white, colours
10 panels or canvases for the course (You won’t need them the first night. Carolyn will explain what to buy.)
Just bring a few each night - at least two; and try to bring last week's work back to work on too. Paintings evolve.
You can paint on boards, cradled panels
OR canvasses
All of these are available in a variety of qualities. You can also paint on mat board or cardboard or paper. You can also use canvas boards. It really is entirely up to you. You can try a few over the weeks of the course.
The best places to buy substrates (that's what your panel or canvas is called) in our neck of the woods are Michaels and Dollar Store. I buy most of my stuff at Value Village and Garage Sales.
These are at Michael's
A glue stick
U-HU is best
1 inch masking tape
Scissors and X-Acto knife
A small bottle of gesso
You don't need gesso if you are using canvasses that are already primed (they'll be white)
Acrylic medium
Share with a partner. You can also use Modge Dodge. Acrylic medium is used to add collage and textures to abstract art. It's optional.
Plastic table cover
2 Water containers. Yogurt tubs are great.
